Know the facts to Safeguard Bird flu : Fine Generics

Know the facts to Safeguard Bird flu
As the threats of bird flu continues to haunt the world, as responsible citizens you all must work together to fight and prevent the menaces of the disease...

Date : March 23, 2006

As the threats of bird flu continues to haunt the world, as responsible citizens you all must work together to fight and prevent the menaces of the disease. At a time when no cure or vaccine is available to prevent bird flu in humans, the best way to safeguard bird flu is to prevent you from being infected. Bird flu outbreak is caused by direct contact with infected poultry or surfaces contaminated by their faeces. Till date, human cases have occurred only in rural and pre-urban areas where the households keep poultry. The international effort to prevent the spread of bird flu is multifaceted, focusing on the health of both birds and humans.

Bird flu or avian influenza is a contagious disease which originates from an infected bird and is hard for humans to contract, but health officials warn a major flu outbreak could occur if the H5N1 virus responsible for avian influenza mutates into a form that can spread easily from person to person. Rapid elimination of the H5N1 virus among infected birds and other animals is essential to preventing a major outbreak. The World Health Organization recommends that infected or exposed flocks of chickens and other birds be killed in order to help prevent further spread of the virus and reduce opportunities for human infection. In people, bird flu usually begins much like conventional influenza, with fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches; but can lead to life-threatening complications.

In domestic poultry, infection with avian influenza viruses causes two main forms of disease- the so-called ‘low pathogenic’ form which commonly causes only mild symptoms (ruffled feathers, a drop in egg production) and may easily go undetected and the highly pathogenic form which is far more dramatic. It spreads very rapidly through poultry flocks, causes disease affecting multiple internal organs, and has a mortality that can approach 100%, often within 48 hours.

There are flu drugs that may be used both to prevent people from catching bird flu and to treat those who have it. But there is currently no vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus. Roche Laboratories, Inc. has provided you with possibly the best treatment option for flu virus. Their approved antiviral brand drug Tamiflu (generic Oseltamivir phosphate) is a proven drug for flu treatment but it is highlighted that Tamiflu IS NOT a preventive drug but it can reduce the severity of the flu. The clinical trials have proved that the influenza patients taking Tamiflu feel 30% better than those not taking Tamiflu. But care should be taken not to administer Tamiflu to infants below the age of one and also to expecting mothers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has mentioned Tamiflu as the drug for tackling bird flu if ever a human pandemic breaks out. You can gather Tamiflu information from various print media journals and online information websites about bird flu facts, its prevention measures, treatment and Tamiflu information.